Louisville Metro Government is working on a plan to guide the next two decades of investments in the city. As part of that process, officials will hold a series of public forums starting next week.
They’re inviting the public to discuss the update to Louisville’s comprehensive plan: a 20-year guideline for the city’s land-use and initiatives related to health, housing, sustainability, transportation and more. This new plan will replace Cornerstone 2020, which guided the city’s development from 2000 to now, and sprouted programs like Move Louisville and Healthy Louisville 2020.
Deputy Director for Advanced Planning, Jeff O’Brien, said the new plan will include those programs, but also will bring changes.
“We’ve really built this plan off of five principles: connectivity, healthy, authentic, sustainable and equitable,” O’Brien said. “This is really Louisville Metro telling developers: ‘This is how we want our community to be developed; this is what we want our community to look like; these are the regulations that we want to put in place.’”
The plan will lay out the city’s priorities, and provide a roadmap for private investors.
Draft goals for the plan include housing affordability and maintenance, suggesting Louisville improve its current housing stock for permanent residents. Housing improvements are already planned for the Russell neighborhood, which will receive a $30 million federal grant.
O’Brien said the public input the city receives in the forums will impact the plans’ goals, but Louisvillians can suggest changes until it’s finalized.
“We’ve had over 100 meetings for this plan with various work groups and community organizations to try to produce those goals and objectives, and they can continue to evolve as the process goes forward,” O’Brien said.
The plan is expected to be finalized in late 2018. A draft is expected early next year.
Nine open house forums will be held at various locations beginning May 22. Details can be found here.
